This 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser has been significantly overhauled to the point that it seems pretty close to being a turnkey driver. The seller provides a lengthy description of the numerous improvements he’s made to this FJ55, which is a rare truck on its own but stands out even further for not being a rusty carcass of a project. Bidding seems quite light at the moment, however, as it sits here on eBay with bids to $10, 300 and the reserve unmet.
The FJ55 occupies an interesting space in the Land Cruiser hierarchy. It’s certainly a desirable specimen, known for essentially being bomb-proof once brought back into running, driving condition. But for some reason, this era of truck has never enjoyed the explosive uptick in value that would make a “light” restoration like this one money in the bank as it relates to what the next owner is willing to pay. The FJ55 looks tough on larger wheels and tires with a ton of bite in the tread pattern.
I suspect what’s holding this truck back is some of the finish details, like what appears to be some rust blistering through on the A-pillar. Now, I know this is largely superficial rust, but it doesn’t help your chances of netting a big sale price. I’m not going to roll through the numerous improvements the seller has made – those can be found in the listing – but I do think this presents a cautionary tale about the kind of vehicle that represents a worthy specimen for throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at.
The listing does mention that the seller swapped in an engine from an FJ40-series truck, along with a 4-speed transmission and transfer case from an FJ60. As you gaze at the entire list of mechanical and electrical improvements, it dawns on you that the seller prioritized making this FJ55 into a nearly turnkey truck that you can fire up and drive everywhere, but in order to see that money back, he may have needed to start with a slightly cleaner specimen. Regardless, I hope that a bidder steps up and realizes the price of admission is worth it considering how few F55’s show up in this sort of condition.
Not to mention the fact that these things are butt ugly, and the days of fan boys paying 6 figures seem to be over.
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. I find them pleasing to behold. If I had the ability to pay six figures, I wouldn’t, but would happily drive one, if I had one.
AKA Land Crusher.
My father-in-law gave us his FJ55 when he purchased a newer Land Cruiser (with air conditioning). We lived in Southern Arizona and used the vehicle extensively when camping and exploring. It was a very capable 4WD machine that never let us down mechanically though because of its weight was always ready to slide down when climbing steep approaches. Best features – tough, mechanically reliable, able to go more than axle deep in water crossings, lots of room for camping/hikiing/exploring gear. Worst features – terrible gas mileage, extremely stiff suspension – after a long weekend of driving it took a few days for the vertebrae in our necks to recover. We moved to Texas in 1981 and since there was no place to really use it in Texas we sold it for $1,000.00 to a nice your couple with a couple young children who wanted it for camping. Later we purchased three Mitsubishi Montero’s (one 2 door and two 4 door models). The Montero’s were much more comfortable on and off the road, much better gas mileage and just as capable (if not more so) when using 4WD.
overhauled. so i’m guessing around 300 grand of miles
I wonder what that chain dangling underneath is for?
Talk about a box on wheels…
Unstoppable SUV , hardest darn steering Ive ever driven and once they rust you just cant stray ahead of the worm , had a 75 and redid the body 2x with new sheetmetal and old school undercarriage paint but just could not make it stay decent looking , floors went out so I dumped it .